Looking for a fun way to creep out your friends without faking with silly pranks? A place to scare you out of your wits on Halloween night? Nestled deep in the landscape of Eastern Rowan County is a phenomenon that is very strange, creepy, and interesting at the same time.
Gravity Hill is located a few miles down the road from Dan Nicholas Park on Richfield Road near High Rock Lake. From looking at the hill, one could just say that it is a simple road. However, if you stop your car at the bottom of the hill and put it in neutral, the car will move up the hill! The slow process is considered to be an eccentric abnormality that cannot be explained.
However, there are many explanations on how this strange thing originated. One account explains that a couple and their newborn were traveling on Richfield Road around the turn of the century. Due to some odd reason, the car flipped over. The parents were able to crawl out safely, but the child was discovered to be crushed under the weight of the car. Alarmed, the parents attempted to push the car off of their child. So to this very day, some believe that the movement of the car in neutral up the hill is caused by the parents still trying to push the vehicle off of their child.
Some people believe that the phenomenon is caused by scientific magnetic fields that allow for the car to move uphill, defying common physics.
Another account states that at the conclusion of the American Civil War, Soldiers were returning home to their native North Carolina when they discovered a wagon, which appeared to be full of crates filled with food and supplies. Malnourished and hungry, the confederates pulled the wagon south. Upon arriving at a place unmistakably considered “safe” from the war zone, the soldiers stopped to peek in the storage crates. However, before they opened the crates, they were surprised by a band of Union carpetbaggers on horseback, and all were massacred and killed. Thinking the wagon was full of gold, the carpetbaggers opened the crates only to see that they were full of linen cloth. So it is rumored that the slain Confederate Soldiers return to pull their prized wagon up the hill, and to safety from the carpetbaggers.
Whichever story you may believe, the occurrence at Gravity Hill is definitely a must see, especially on Halloween night. Many people make their way down to Richfield Road to obtain the thrill of something creepy and weird, so if you venture down there on October 31st, you will not be alone. But the fun thing regarding Gravity Hill is that the phenomenon occurs all of the time, whether it’s 10:00 in the morning, or 12:00 midnight. So if you want to experience something cool, exciting, and eccentric, make your way down to Gravity Hill….. if you dare.
